Kingdom Come
by Dwiddle
Summary: (Human AU) When Aster was younger he had wanted a little brother. When his parents finally adopted a new son named Jack, Aster thought his family was perfect. But as nightmares plague Jack every night, can Aster find out what is wrong before it is too late for his little brother?
1. Chapter 1

_Kingdom Come_

It started when he was nine. It could have started before then, but Aster remembered it beginning then.

When Aster was four he was taken out of the orphanage and adopted by Mrs. Toothiana and Mr. North. Amelia Toothiana was a kind, eastern woman with bright violet eyes. She was very bubbly and motherly. With her being a dentist, she was fascinated with teeth and always bothered Aster, telling him to keep up with his dental hygiene. That earned her the nickname Tooth from both her husband and her new son. She was infertile, always wanting kids of her own.

His father, Nicolas North, was very similar to his wife. He was a big Russian man, always smile and expressing his emotions to the fullest. He was a toy maker for his own little shop. He made a variety of toys, ranging from older kinds of toys to newer, electronic toys. Some times when Aster listened he could hear his father talking about his distaste of big companies.

"They show no love for the toys," he would say as he tightened a screw on his newest toy to his coworker, Phil. "They do not care about the children. Just money." Phil would grunt as he continued painting one of his own toys.

Aster was a self-proclaimed artist. He would always be drawing and painting. Sometimes when Amelia came home from work she would see him sitting at the kitchen table, paint all over the table, floor, and all in his brown hair. She would never be mad at him, and would smile at him as he gave a toothy grin to her and his newest masterpiece.

Aster would often be found in his father's workshop, helping make all of the toys as extravagant as they could be. North always accepted help from his son, finding it to be good bonding time between the two without him having to leave work.

As Aster grew older, his artistic skills were greatly improving, but he seemed less joyful. Even whenever he was working with North, he would start to think of it more as work then father-son bonding time. His parents were hardly home, so he rarely could have real bonding time with them. He wanted someone to spend time with him at home when he was there and not at school.

Whenever Amelia and North found out that was why Aster was sad, they quickly tried to find a solution to his sadness.

It was whenever he was nine that his parents decided to adopt another child, a brother for Aster.

His name was Jack. Aster was elated. He was finally going to have someone to spend time with. Jack was four, five years younger than himself. When Aster had seen the small brown haired child clinging to his mother, he had been ecstatic to finally having someone to care for.

"Shush Aster, he's sleeping." Aster quieted down his excitement, still looking at the young boy in his mother's arms in wonder. Jack's fists were opening and closing around the fabric of Amelia's jacket. The small whimpers that left his mouth started to get louder and he started to cry. His cry was loud and piercing, making up for the now silent Aster.

Amelia quickly started bouncing the small child up and down, making shushing noises as she did to sooth him.

"Aster sweetie, do you think you could get Jack a blanket?" Aster nodded before running farther into the house and up the stairs, trying to find a blanket for his new crying brother.

Grabbing one of his smaller, older blankets from an upstairs closet, he sprinted back down the steps. Following the sounds of crying, he found his mother, still in her winter jacket, trying to sooth the restless child.

"Here mom," Aster said, thrusting the blanket at his mother. She looked at him and gave him a warm smile.

"Thank you Aster. He's probably so cold." Aster could understand why. All he had on was a short sleeved white shirt and a pair of khakis. It was freezing outside. Even when Aster was in the house he was wearing a long sleeved shirt and sweatpants.

Amelia wrapped Jack in the blanket. "He had almost nothing at the orphanage." She looked down sadly at her new song as his loud cries quieted down to soft hiccups.

"Well we could always buy him new stuff," Aster said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And he can have my old stuff. In fact, we can share everything!" He was beaming at the thought of everything him and his brother could do.

Amelia smiled down at her son. She couldn't be any more proud of him at this moment. Shifting to make sure Jack was still comfortable, Amelia reached down and pinched Aster's nose. He smiled and let out a soft giggle.

"I'm positive you are going to be the best big brother out there." Aster gave a nod. She hoped her family would always be like this.

* * *

Aster loved his younger brother. He was a very bubbly and hyperactive child. Amelia would always say he acted just like her whenever she was his age. Maybe even more joyful and fun loving. Aster tried spending as much time with him as possible. But with school, helping North, and his own hobbies, it was sometimes hard spending time with him.

It was the nighttime that was the worst and stopped all the fun, though. Jack could never have a full night's sleep. He was terrified of the dark and couldn't be alone if there were no lights to comfort him. Whenever he had to go to bed, both the hall light and a night light had to stay on just for him. The darker it was in his room when he went to bed, the faster he would wake up, either crying or frantically screaming for someone to help. It was a nightly occurrence that Aster still was not used to. He wasn't sure why his brother was so scared of the dark. There was nothing wrong about it. But Jack never told any of them why he was scared. He just shook his head and cried as ether Amelia, North, or even Aster sometimes comforted him.

Even whenever Jack went into middle school he had to keep his nightlight and have the hall light on. And whenever Jack got into his freshman year of high school, he switched from a nightlight to a lamp, since it appeared to be more adult.

When Jack got into high school, Aster was already in his senior year. Now in their teenage years, the brothers hardly spent any time together at all, always off doing their own things. It was still comfortable in their house, just separated.

But not everything can stay the same forever though. Not whenever the nightmares plagued the mind.

* * *

**_A/N Here is my second story. As you can see it is an AU, and it will be darker than the first one. Please read and review with any suggestions._**


	2. Day One

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASTER!"

Aster flailed at the sudden booming voices. His sheets were flung everywhere as his eyes looked up, trying to comprehend what was happening.

Amelia, North and Jack were all standing above him with huge grins. Aster looked at each of them, his eyes scanning for anything that could be off. His parents and Jack never woke him up on his birthday like this.

"Alright, what's goin on," he asked, sitting up and more awake than before.

"Aster, we just wanted to be the first to greet you on your birthday," North said, patting him on the back. Aster smiled. He enjoyed this, no matter how awkward it was. He had a family to greet him on his birthday. What more could he ask for?

"Would it be too much to ask for my presents before school?" Amelia laughed good-heartedly.

"Yes, it is too much. What you can ask for is breakfast. What do you want? I'll make anything."

"I guess just scrambled eggs and toast. I don't want to be late to school today." Amelia nodded before leaving the room, North in tow. Jack, on the other hand, flopped onto Aster's bed. He turned to look at Aster while lying flat on his back. Aster was sitting up, but still relaxing.

"So how does it feel to be nineteen? Feel like an old man yet?" Jack smirked, resulting in a light smack to the head.

"Nothing feels different yet. Maybe when I get up, though, my hip will break." Jack laughed and Aster smiled. He was still as fun loving and mischievous as he was when he was a child, but every day he grew more tired. Bags started to form under his eyes from never getting a full night's rest. They've been brothers for ten years, and Jack still was never able to stay asleep for an entire night. The only time he ever did sleep was when someone was sleeping with him, either family or his best friend Sanderson.

"Come on. We're gonna be late for breakfast," Aster said, nudging Jack before standing up, stretching. Jack bounced off of his bed and ran out of the room to the kitchen. Aster rolled his eyes before checking his phone. Three new messages. Looks like they really wanted to be the first people to wish him a happy birthday.

When Aster got to the kitchen, Amelia and Jack were both sitting at the table, North standing in front of the stove.

"I thought you said you were makin the food," Aster said, eyebrows raised at his mom. He sniffed the air. It smelt of burnt food.

"Turns out I can't make eggs," she said sheepishly, shrugging. Aster grinned as North put a plate of food in front of him. His mouth watered as he greedily dug into his food. While he ate North gave both Jack and Amelia their food before sitting down to eat his own.

Breakfast was eaten comfortably. And when Seven thirty came, both Aster and Jack went up to their respective rooms to get ready to go to school.

* * *

Both boys walked side by side as they entered the school parking lot. Many kids were loitering outside the school already. Now that winter was over and spring was here, kids didn't mind waiting outside for the school bell to ring.

"I'll see you later lil' brother," Aster said, patting Jack on the head before walking off in a different direction to find his own friends.

Walking to the main staircase outside the school, he saw both of his friends standing there, casually talking to each other halfway up the stairs.

"Hey guys," Aster greeted them. Both turned and waved over.

"How are ya, sport," his friend Patrick said. Patrick was also in his senior year. He had short ginger hair and freckles were splattered all over his face. He stood at five foot five, five inches shorter than Aster himself.

"Same as every otha day," Aster responded. He looked expectantly at both of his friends, but neither of them spoke. "Aren't you both forgettin something?"

"No, I don't believe so," Phil, his other friend, said with a smug smile. Phil was in his junior year and was significantly shorter than the two boys. His hair was also the shortest of the bunch, being a buzz cut on his tan head.

"Then I'm thinkin you two need to check your memories." Before anyone could say anything a blonde haired girl came up and ran right into Aster, hugging him around his middle and making him stumble.

"Happy birthday Aster," she yelled, which in her voices sound more like a shriek. Some heads of nearby students turned their way before looking away again, uninterested.

"Oh, that was today," Patrick asked, leaning back on the railing of the steps, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh shut it ya gumby," Aster said, trying to pry the girl off of his mid-section. "Can you get off of me April? I'm gonna fall." April squeezed him one last time before letting go of him, huffing.

"You don't want your birthday hugs," she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"You know I'm not the biggest fan of physical contact. Don't like hugs." _Especially from you_ Aster added mentally. He did not like April in the slightest. Her and her group of friends were the rudest people in the school in his opinion. All they did was bully the freshmen and harass anyone that they did not live up to their standard. The worst part was they always got away with it. But she was currently dating Patrick, so he had to endure her.

"Whatever you grump," she said loudly. She turned around and hugged Patrick, pecking him on the lips before running up the rest of the stairs and going inside the school to wait, or to meet up with her friends eating breakfast.

"You have yourself an interesting girl, dontcha," Phil said.

"Shut your trap. She is a great lass. You're just jealous that you don't have a girl for yourself." Phil punched Patrick on the arm right as the bell for school to start rung.

"Better get inside. Don't want to be late." Patrick rolled his eyes as they all turned to walk up the school steps to start school.

* * *

Aster groaned as he sat down at his table for lunch. Even on his birthday school work was just as boring and monotonous. English was just plain boring, and he had to have it first period. Then second was calculus, and that was just obnoxious. Too many numbers were there when half of them were unnecessary.

The sound of footsteps caught his attention as they stopped right as his table. He looked up uninterested. Jack was standing next to him, his fingers twiddling in front of him.

"What's up," Aster asked him. He looked around, trying to see if any of his friends were around. None of them were in sight, and Aster let out a sigh of relief. Just because they were his friends did not mean that they were the nicest people. Sometimes they made Jack the butt of their jokes. He'd have to restrain himself from hitting one of them in the face.

"Well… I ran out of my room this morning before school, and I kind of forgot my lunch money on my night stand." His voice got softer the more he spoke and he looked down at his feet. Aster sighed again, but not out of exhaustion or relief. He knew Jack was embarrassed to talk about his fear of the dark. He was fourteen. He should have been over this years ago.

He reached into his own pocket and pulled out his wallet. Getting out a five dollar bill, he handed it to Jack, who graciously took it.

"Thanks Aster," he said before turning and going to his own table with Sanderson.

"Was that Jack," he heard behind him. The table shifted next to him and he saw Phil sit next to him out of the corner of his eye. Patrick sat on the other side of the table along with April and her two other friends, Merryweather and Juniper.

"Why would Aster be over here," Juniper asked, flipping red hair behind her shoulders.

"Are you seriously asking that," April deadpanned. Juniper just stared at her with a blank and bored expression. "Aster and Jack are brothers you idiot."

"Hey, I just came to this school this year. Sorry I don't pay attention to the stupid freshmen."

Aster clenched his fists under the table, wanting to badly to punch her in the face with all of his might. Everyone else was laughing at who knows what, but Aster drowned them out. He didn't care about it. Instead he looked over to the table in the back of the cafeteria for Jack.

There were only three people at his table; him, Sanderson and Wendy, another one of his friends. Jack and Sanderson have been friends since they met in middle school. Aster remembered when Jack came home in the sixth grade asking everyone in the house if they knew sign language. He had said no, confused as to why he was asking this sudden question out of the blue. He sounded so excited about it too. For the next few weeks, Jack was always practicing sign language in his spare time, and Aster was thoroughly confused as to why he was interested in it. It wasn't until he brought over the smaller blonde haired child that he understood what was going on. He smiled warmly at the two when he saw them. Ever since then they had been inseparable. That was the kind of friendship that Aster wanted.

Wendy showed up to Jack's table near the beginning of his freshman year. She was a sophomore, and when he first saw Jack she immediately went to him and became a silent friend. Aster only knew her for her reputation in the athletics department. She was the star of the track team, running like the wind was physically carrying her.

In truth, he envied Jack for being able to make actually close friends. North jerks whose only source of entertainment was making fun of anyone who was different than them.

"Hello, Earth to Aster." Aster shook his head, letting out an unattractive 'huh' in the process. They all started to laugh.

"What are you so distracted by Aster," Merryweather questioned, turning around in her seat to see what had caught his attention.

"Nothing," he quickly said, trying to get her attention. "Just zoning out. I just got out of math last period."

"Who do you have for math," Phil asked.

"We have Mr. Valentine. It was so boring," Juniper told the group, drawing out the so for emphasis.

"No wonder you are so out of it. I would have probably already fallen asleep by now." The whole group started to talk about their day so far, and Aster mentally let out a breath of relief, happy that the conversation was dropped. The less they talked about his brother the better.

Unlike his breakfast this morning Aster did not feel comfortable in the slightest. He didn't talk as much, preferring to keep his breathing in check like every time they started to talk about Jack. He hated it.

The bell rang, ending lunch. Everyone including Aster stood up, ready to get the day over with.

* * *

Aster walked into his last class of the day, which luckily was his favorite. Art.

He took his seat near the front of the classroom near the teacher's desk. His art teacher was also one of the only teachers in this school that he could actually tolerate. Everyone else was annoying and did not care for the kids; they only did it for the money. He hated people like that.

The bell rang and everyone quieted down as the teacher walked in the room. He walked to the front of the room and grabbed a dry erase marker. Uncapping it, he wrote the word finals in big bold letters.

"Alright class," Manny said, looking back at his students. "As you know there is only about a month left of school. And a lot of you somehow have a failing grade in this class. I don't understand, all you have to do is draw a picture and you'll get a C." There were some chuckles in the classroom, but otherwise it was still quiet as ever.

"But here is your chance to boost up your grade. For this year's finals, I will let you pick whatever you want." Some murmurs went through the room, but Manny kept talking.

"You can't just do anything though. Whenever you get an idea, tell me. If I like it, then I will let you do it. If I do not, then you have to choose to do something else. No arguments. Now get to thinking. You have all period to figure out what you want to do."

When Manny went to his desks, many kids took this as an opportunity for a free period. Aster, on the other hand, did not. He immediately started thinking of different things that he could do for his projects.

"Manny, I have an idea for my project," some girl from the back yelled. Manny got up from his desk, but Aster tried to ignore everything around him. He wanted his project to be amazing; to be perfect.

Thirty minutes past and Aster still had no idea what he wanted to do. His mind was at a block and he couldn't find any way around it.

"Aster," he heard behind him for the third time this day. He turned around and saw Manny standing right behind him. "I thought you would have come up with something by now. You're my best student." Aster sighed as he massaged his temples with one hand.

"I don't know. I want my project to be the best I have ever done. But I can't think of anything." Manny put a hand on his chin and sat down on the table behind him, thinking.

"Well, you are a great painter. You could try doing something with that."

"I know. But what would I paint?" Manny made a sound of acknowledgement as he got quiet again, thinking. Aster waited for Manny to speak again.

"You know, I never really see you paint landscape." Aster did not like where this was going. "How about this; for your final you can make an extravagant painting. Put in the foreground of whatever you want, and a background. But I want the background to be your main focus and to be as detailed as can be."

Aster didn't know what to say. He was a great artist, but all artists had their weak point. His was scenery. But it wasn't a final because it was easy, and Aster wasn't going to back down from a challenge.

"Okay Manny. That sounds good." Manny smiled and got off the table.

"I can't wait to see it. Knowing you are doing means I have high expectations." Aster gave him a thumbs up at the same time another kid was calling Manny's name, seeking his attention.

When Manny left Aster, he turned to his sketchbook. He better start figuring out what he was going to do. Planning out beforehand would be his best bet to try and make this as good as possible.

The clock struck three and the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Aster put his sketchbook in to his bag and left the room, waving to Manny as he left.

When he got outside he stood right outside the front doors. He was always the first one out since the art room was one of the closest classrooms to the front doors. He leaned against the wall by the door, waiting for Jack to get out too.

Many kids sauntered out of the school, happy the day was finally over and they could get home to do whatever they wanted.

After a few minutes past Aster saw Jack walk outside, talking to Sanderson. Even if he was mute they seemed to be able to perfectly communicate. Sanderson was great at expressing what he wanted to say and it seemed he didn't need words. If he thought about it, it would feel weird for Sanderson to have a voice. No voices came to mind that could fit him.

"Jack," Aster yelled, getting his attention. Jack waved over to Aster and turned back to Sanderson, saying something that he could not hear. After their quick little conversation Jack jogged over and stood right next to Aster.

"Ready t' go?" Jack nodded and both started to walk side by side back home.

"I can't wait for you to see what we got you for your birthday," Jack said when they were out of the parking lot and walking along the sidewalks to their home.

"Neither can I."

* * *

Aster sat awkwardly at the kitchen table, waiting for everyone else to come in. Amelia had told him to go inside, sit down and wait for them. He complied, but he was starting to get antsy. They had been gone for ten minutes and he was started to get bored just sitting in the kitchen. All he had to do while sitting down was look around his kitchen and read anything he could.

The sounds of footsteps were heard in Aster's ears, and he immediately sat up.

Amelia popped her head in through the doorway and smiled at Aster. Before he could say anything she walked in, carrying three presents. Right behind her was North and Jack, carrying a cake and another a crudely wrapped present respectively.

"I wonder who those are for," Aster said sarcastically as they placed everything on the table in front of him.

"Do not ask silly questions. Open your gifts," North said. He sounded more excited about them then Aster looked. Aster hid his emotions, and even if he looked bored his family knew that he was just as happy as the rest of them.

"Alright, alright." Aster grabbed the closest present, one that was wrapped in green paper, and ripped it off. Inside were two sketchbooks. In the next present were canvases for him to paint on.

This'll be useful for my project, Aster thought, smiling. He grabbed the third present and opened it. There were three shirts in it, all button downs. He let out a small laugh. He rarely ever wore those kinds of shirts, usually only on special occasions. He preferred to wear more comfortable clothes. Mostly tee shirts or long sleeve shirts.

Aster grabbed the last present, the one that Jack was holding. It was horribly wrapped in bright pink paper. He ignored the color choice and ripped it open; wanting to see what was inside.

When he took off all of the paper, all that was left was a white box with nothing on it. He gave Jack a questioning look, but Jack just motioned for him to open the box. Aster complied and opened it.

Inside was a large assortment of different colored paints. Each one a different color than the next.

"Jack, when did ya get these," he stuttered out. These things cost a fortune and he had wanted them for the longest time. How Jack had got them he wasn't sure.

"That is for me to know and you to not know. Just enjoy them," Jack said with a cheeky grin. Aster motioned for him to come over and he did.

When Jack was close enough he gave him a hug, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing. Jack made a sound of disapproval but he didn't fight it.

"Thank you."

"It's your birthday, don't be thanking me! It's my duty to get you stuff." Aster laughed and let go of his brother.

"Enough talk! It is time for cake, no?" North walked over to the table with a knife and started cutting the cake for everyone.

Aster loved his family. And he wished he could live the rest of his days this happy.

* * *

**_A/N Thank you all for the follows and favorites! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember to read and review_**


	3. The First Night

**_A/N Thank you to all who have read and reviewed/followed/favorited this story. It means a lot. I wonder if anyone noticed who I based Aster's friends off of._**

**_I'm also sorry if the story seems to be going a little slow now. The next chapter is when things will get more exciting._**

* * *

Scream reverberated off of the upstairs walls in the night. Aster pulled a pillow over his head, trying to ignore them and go back into a peaceful sleep.

He peaked out from under his pillow at his nightstand, looking for the red numbers on his alarm clock to tell him what time it was. Three o'clock. It was later than the other times Jack woke up, but it was still early in the night.

The sound of footsteps passed his door, most likely his mom or dad going in to comfort Jack from his nightly terrors. Aster would have gotten up to help, but he was tired. After they had cake, he had went up to his room to figure out what he was going to paint for his project. The soon he thought of an idea, the sooner he could paint and finish it. It wasn't until around midnight that he finally thought of an idea and kept it. It was then he fell asleep. And now, only three hours later, he was woken up.

Aster sighed before running a hand over his face. He was already awake, and there was no chance to get back to sleep. He was a very light sleeper, so there was no chance of Aster getting back to sleep until either Jack calmed down or he found ear plugs.

He got up out of bed and rubbed his eyes, ready to go in and help his parents calm down Jack. After pulling on his shirt from the day before, he went over and opened his bedroom door. In the hallway the screams were less muffled and more distinct. They were much louder than before. Louder than usual. He wondered how their neighbors never complained about the screaming almost every night.

He turned right, going further down the hall to see how they were doing. When he was just about at his door, Amelia came out, looking more tired than Aster was. Aster looked around her and saw North holding Jack while he yelled. It broke Aster's heart seeing the normally happy child in tears, clutching onto his father as if he let go everything would disappear.

"How is he," Aster whispered so no one on the other side of the door could hear. It didn't matter. Jack's screams would have drowned it out.

"Worse. Somehow the lamp's light broke."

"What do you mean 'broke'," Aster questioned, his eyebrow raised.

"The light bulb burned out. I don't see why though, we just put that one in about a week ago." She looked exhausted. Aster put his hand on her shoulder and smiled lightly at her.

"You go to bed. You have work tomorrow. I'll go inside and help calm him down for you." Amelia smiled back at her son and thanked him. She walked past him to go to her own room. Her room, which she shared with North, was right next to Aster's, the farthest room from Jack's and right in front of the stairs. On the other side of Aster's room was the upstairs bathroom, and after that was Jack's, which was right next to the closet at the very end of the hall.

After he watched his mother go inside of her room, he turned around and walked into Jack's room. All the lights, minus the lamp's light, were on.

"Dad," Aster said, getting North's attention. North looked up from his shushing and gave Aster a pleading look. Aster understood and walked over and sat on Jack's bed.

"Jack," he quietly said, putting his hand on his shoulder. Jack stuffed but didn't pull away from the hand.

"Jack it's me, Aster." He moved his hand to Jack's back, rubbing up in down, trying to sooth his brother. His screams quieted down, but he still was convulsing with silent tears and whimpers. Aster made motions to North, and North let go of Jack, letting Aster take him into his hands.

It was Aster's turn to now make comforting motions as Jack grabbed onto his shirt until his knuckles turned white.

"Come on mate, it's alright," Aster said in between his shushes, rubbing his hair in a comforting way. Jack still whined; his mind still trapped in his own fear. It took a while, but soon Jack started to calm down until his breathin evened out and he eventually fell asleep with his head on Aster's lap.

Outside the window the sun was coming up. There were no clocks in Jack's room, so there was no way to see how long he had been there trying to comfort Jack. North had gone to bed a while ago, leaving Aster alone with Jack.

He didn't know why Jack got comforted faster when Aster was around, he just was. Aster wasn't going to complain though. He felt less helpless this way. He would rather be able to sooth Jack than have to sit on the sidelines, being unable to even help as his brother screamed at the unknown terrors attacking him.

He sighed, looking back at the open doorway to the hallway. He didn't know whether he should get up or stay where he was. Jack was comfortable, and he didn't want to ruin that by going back to his own bed. Making his decision, he positioned Jack so that his head was moved to his pillow and his whole body was on the bed.

Aster got up and quietly left the room. He kept the light on and the hall light on. That should help Jack stay asleep.

When he got back into his own room the first thing he did was look at his clock. Five thirty. He had been in Jack's room for around two hours, and school started in less than three hours. There was no way he was getting back to sleep.

Deciding to just stay awake, he grabbed his sketchbook off of the ground and decided to continue drawing out his ideas for his painting. He could at least be productive while he was awake.

* * *

The whole day at school Aster was wandering around aimlessly. He was too tired to pay attention in any of his classes. His friends, knowing that he was tired, decided to leave him be. He was thankful for that. He had no tolerance for anything they say. One wrong word for them and he probably would sock them.

It was the last period of the day and Aster was still half out of it. When he got inside of the art room he went straight to his seat and rested his head on the desk. He was usually one of the first people in the class, and he was one of the first today. This gave him some time to rest before Manny got in and started teaching the class. Hopefully it was an easy day.

Four minutes later the bell rang and the kids were all in their seats. Aster groaned quietly as he put his head up and looked to the front, resting his chin in his hand.

"Okay class, today I am going to let you all work on your final projects." Aster smiled in relief. It was going to be an easy day. As the kids behind him starting talking to each other while doing their own projects, Aster reached into his bag an pulled out his sketch book for the second time today and continued drawing reference pictures for his painting.

"So Aster," Manny said standing in front of him. "What are you planning on painting?"

"I was thinking of just a wide open space. Maybe like the grasslands. And in the front have blurred figures like animals or something." Aster knew the idea was completely unoriginal, but he couldn't think of anything else. It could still look beautiful.

"Are you sure that is what you want," Manny asked, confusion in his voice. He could understand why. Aster usually always tried to go above and beyond on all his work. But with all the tests he was having and all the preparation for graduation, Aster was slowly becoming more and more stressed the closer it got to the end of school.

"Yeah. And besides, I can change what I'm painting at any time. If something else comes to mind, then I'll change it." Manny seemed to accept this answer and walked away to talk to other students in the room.

Aster looked back down at his picture and sighed. This wasn't going to be his best work, but he would try to make it great. He couldn't start the actual painting until he got home. All his materials were there, so until he could get home he would have to just stall for time. He picked up his pencil and started to draw more on the picture.

* * *

**_A/N Like always please read and review_**


	4. The Painting

_**A/N Please read and review like always! Every single one means the most to me.**_

* * *

Everyone at school was excited. It was the first day of June, which meant it was getting closer and closer to the end of the school year. Kids were paying less and less attention during school, just wanting the end of the year to be over with.

Aster, on the other hand, was less excited than everyone else. He was currently in the auditorium with the rest of the seniors talking about graduation. But he couldn't care less about this. He just wanted to go home and finish his painting. He was getting closer to finishing, and even if it was horribly planned, he was proud of it.

"After I announce the class of two-thousand and thirteen, you are to come in from the left side of the auditorium." Aster put his elbow on the arm rest and started to doze off. It was too boring. Patrick nudged him in the side, waking him up.

"If I can't go to sleep then neither can you," he whispered. Aster glared at his friend before looking back up to the front of the auditorium where his teachers were talking.

He really didn't care.

The bell rang, and Aster breathed a silent thank you as he got up and left with the rest of the kids. The gathering happened last period, making him miss his art class. Luckily for him it was a Friday, so he had all weekend to do whatever he wanted.

He got outside of the school and stood where he always did as he waited for Jack to also get out.

Jack stumbled out of the doors looking tired. Ever since the night of his birthday Jack has been getting less and less sleep. It wasn't healthy. He hardly slept before then, but he used to be able to get around two to four hours. Now he barely got one hour of sleep. None of them knew what changed, but something had. Even Aster was now having trouble getting him to go back to sleep after he woke up from nightmares.

"Ready to go home Jack," Aster said, trying to be as sympathetic as possible. Jack nodded and they started walking home.

Aster glanced at him from the side as they headed home. He wished he could do something for his little brother. The worse he got, he more he thought of himself as a bad brother.

* * *

All of Aster's materials were placed all over the kitchen table. His painting sat in front of him, almost finished. He was right, it wasn't his best, but it was good.

He picked up his paintbrush and put it in the yellow paint before stroking the brush on the canvas. He zoned out everything around him. When he painted, it felt like a way out of everything. Was he was stressed or angry; his art was always there to comfort him.

"Aster," he heard Jack call from behind him. He ignored him. If it was really important he could get their parents to do it.

"Aster," Jack called again. Aster sighed, and turned around. Jack was standing right behind him.

"What do ya want Jack," Aster said impatiently. He just wanted to get this picture done with.

"You should make me something to eat. I'm hungry." Aster glared at Jack, and in returned Jack gave him an innocent smile to the untrained eye.

"Jack, you are fourteen. Ya know how to use everything in the kitchen. Make your own food." Aster turned back around and started working on his painting again. If he just ignored Jack then maybe he would go away.

"Come on Aster! You cook better than me and I'm starving!" Aster didn't look at Jack and continued to work. He heard a huff behind him, but he didn't leave.

"Aster," he whined, but Aster was persistent. He wasn't going to break.

"Aster!" Jack put his hands on both of Aster's shoulders and started to lightly shake him.

"Jack, let go and make your own food. I'm not mum." Aster was becoming more and more angry. All he wanted to do was paint and here was Jack being lazy.

"I don't want to make it. I want you to!"

"Can you just leave me alone," Aster said through gritted teeth.

"Whatever you grumpy bunny," Jack said before walking past him to open the fridge. Aster sighed and looked back down to his painting. He continued to paint, ignoring all the rustling around him of Jack making food.

Then everything happened too fast for anyone to react.

While Aster put his paintbrush in a different color, Jack tripped and bumped into the table. He didn't know why he tripped, but he did. When he hit the table, he shook it enough to knock over the cup of water that Aster used to clean of his brushes. The cup fell over and spilt all over his painting. The water ran over the painting, blending the colors and ruining the painting.

Aster looked down at his painting in horror. He scanned the entire thing, looking at all his hard work, now just a blend of color. Ruined.

"Aster I am so sorry," he heard Jack breath from the where he was standing. Aster looked up at him and then back down at his painting. It was due in two weeks. It had taken him almost a month to finish it.

His despair turned into rage as he looked back up at Jack, standing up to his full height..

"What did ya think you were doin," he yelled at Jack. Jack looked at him fearfully.

"I… I don't know. I was turning around to leave and I just tripped. I'm so sorry." Aster ignored his apologizes and kept yelling.

"You were bein reckless weren't you?"

"No. I don't know why I lost my balance. I just did! I didn't mean to." Jack was starting to go on the defensive.

"You do realize that you ruined the final project for art! Do you know how long I have worked on this?" Aster was fuming. He would have to redo this entire picture, and it would never be as good as the original.

"You've been working on this all month! I know! But what else do you want me to do! I can't re-paint it for you."

"Just get out of here Jack. You already made a big enough mess here. Go ruin something else." Jack didn't try to respond to him. Instead he walked out and left, probably to go into his room. Aster was thankful that neither of their parents was home to hear their fight. They would have already interjected by now.

He sat back down and put his head in his hands, mourning his project. He would have to re-do everything. All of his free time would now have to go into working on this.

That night whenever Aster heard Jack's screams in the night, he didn't go inside to help him.


	5. The Dark

A/N Here's the next chapter. A lot of people have been wondering what the reason for Jack's fear of the dark was. Well starting in this chapter things will start to go a little fast paced and be explained.

As always please Read and Review. They all mean the world to me.

* * *

When Saturday morning came both Amelia and North were thoroughly confused as to why their sons weren't talking to one another. The two boys were very close, and for them to be doing everything in their power to ignore each other was strange.

Amelia's work always got out first, so whenever she got home Friday night she was worried that something had happened. The television in the living room wasn't on and there was no talking. When she looked inside the kitchen she had found Aster hunched over the table with his head in his hands.

"Aster what happened," she asked him, inspecting the table. On it was the painting he was working on. The beautiful yellows and browns were now smeared together to make an ugly brown smudge that also spread to the sky and the rest of his hard work.

"Jack," he mumbled, not putting his head up to look at her.

"Jack? He would never do this! He knows it was for school." Amelia was shocked. Her son would have never done this. But when Aster explained what had happened an hour before, Amelia didn't know what to say or do.

And now it was Saturday and the entire house was in a somber mood. Amelia still did not know why they were not talking. Aster had a week to re-paint it. If he had done it once he would be able to do it again. And Jack hadn't meant to ruin it. But in her mind she knew Jack needed to have been more careful. He was a clumsy child, always tripping over his long limbs.

Amelia sighed before walking up the stairs. Both boys only left their rooms once; Aster to get breakfast and Jack to get a light snack. When she got to the top of her steps Aster poked his head outside his door. When he saw her he gave a sheepish smile.

"Hey mom," she said. Amelia knew that whenever Aster had that tone of voice that he wanted something.

"Yes," she said quickly. She had to get ready. Her work was having a party to celebrate it now being ten years old. Both she and North were going to head over to her boss's house at five, and it was already two.

"Do you think I could have some friends over?" He shuffled on his feet and Amelia had to suppress her own sigh.

"Aster you know me and your father aren't going to be home till around ten tonight."

"I know, but I promise we won't do anything. We just wanted to hang out since me and Patrick are going to be graduating this year. I promise it will just be me, him and Phil." Amelia didn't know what to say. She knew her son was responsible, but she didn't know about his friends.

"Please," Aster asked sweetly. Amelia sighed.

"Alright. But nothing illegal and just the three of you. And make sure Jack gets some rest tonight. He didn't sleep all night last night." Aster flinched back at the words, and Amelia knew why. Aster usually helped Jack during his restless nights. But last night he didn't, and neither Amelia nor North could get him back to sleep. He had stayed awake all night. And she knew Aster probably had trouble sleeping too listening to his brother's screams.

"Okay mom." She nodded approvingly and went into her room, ready to get ready for her party.

* * *

Aster sat in the living room watching the television without interest. His parents have left an hour ago and Jack had not left him room for a while.

In all honestly Aster felt bad about how he treated the situation. Jack hadn't meant to ruin his painting, and he still yelled at the boy for it. If he could go back in time he would change how he reacted, but he couldn't, so he can't. The worst part was that he did not know how to make it up to his brother.

He heard knocks on the door and he got up, leaving the television that he had not even been watching.

When he opened the door he was greeted to Phil, Patrick and April.

"Oh no you have to go," Aster said, blocking the entrance so no one could get in.

"What do you mean I have to go," Phil asked.

"No you. Her," he said pointing at April. She looked offended.

"What do you mean I have to go? What did I do?" She was angry and he could hear it in her voice.

"You didn't do anything. I told my mum that only Patrick and Phil were coming over. Just them."

"Come on Aster. Let her in," Patrick said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "She can come over and then she'll leave before your parents come home. Then none will be the wiser!" Aster looked around them, like his parents would be home any minute before sighing and moving outside of the doorway, letting his friends come in. They thanked him as they made their way into the living room and sat down. Patrick and April sat on the couch while Phil sat down on the floor. Aster went and sat in the chair closest to the door.

"So what were all of you up to yesterday," Aster asked, trying to make small talk.

"My mum was botherin me about college," Phil groaned out. "I still have a year to go an' she expects me t' know everythin now!"

"Same with my mom," April said from her seat as she crossed her legs.

"What were you up to yesterday Aster," Patrick asked him. Aster sighed. He didn't want to tell them, but he also didn't want to lie to them. He chose to tell the truth.

"When I got home I started to work on my final project for art," Aster started.

"Oh what is it," Patrick asked cutting Aster off.

"It was a painting of a typical grassland. But I was almost done with it when…" Again before Aster could finish his friends cut him off again.

"Can we see it," April asked, ignoring the fact that Aster was still talking. "Your art is the best in the school. Let us see it first!" Patrick and Phil started voicing their agreement. It took Aster a few seconds before he could get them quiet to be able to finish what he was going to say.

"Just listen alright? I painted it, but then Jack came in and after we batted heads for a bit he accidentally bumped into the table and spilt water all over it. It's ruined."

"That's just bad luck, dude," Phil said sympathetically. Patrick gave him a slight nod, but April didn't seem solemn for him.

"I bet it wasn't an accident. He did it on purpose to get back at you," she said, crossing her arms. "He was mad and knew that was a good way to get you riled up."

"April, Jack wouldn't do that," Aster said, defending his brother, but there was a hint of doubt in the back of his head. He knew Jack would never do that, but there was that what if.

What if Jack did it on purpose?

What if Jack made the whole 'sorry' an act to get away with it?

"I say you need to get back at him," April said, a mischievous smirk on her face. All three boys looked at her, in confusion and wonder.

"What do you mean?" Everyone was curious to know what she was thinking, even Aster, who disliked her the most.

"Is there anything Jack takes pride in? Or something he hates? Anything that can be used against him?" Aster did not like where this was going, but the thought in the back of his mind made him go along with it.

"Um, he doesn't really take pride in anything, but he is scared of the dark. More like terrified if I think about it." April gave a bigger smile.

"Well then let's make it dark!" All the boys were even more confused at her outburst and she sighed.

"Like, we just trap him in a dark room for a little bit and then let him out." Aster's stomach dropped at the thought of locking his brother in a dark room.

"I don't think that is a good idea. When I say he is terrified, I mean it." April rolled her eyes, but before she could explain herself more Patrick spoke up.

"I kind of see where she is going. More like just close the door with us behind it. We won't leave him, and he'll be perfectly fine. If it seems to go downhill we can just open the door and let him out. What harm could that be?"

Aster didn't want to say yes, but he also didn't want to say no. If he said yes he was betraying his brother, but if he said no then he wouldn't know what these guys would think of him.

Ignoring his better judgment, Aster nodded.

"Sure. But at the first sign of panic we let him out."

"Yeah yeah, okay," April said before standing up and stretching. The rest of them stood up too and walked up the stairs, stopping at the very top.

"So what's the plan?"

"What?"

"How are we going to make it dark?" Aster shrugged his shoulders as he looked outside the window in his parent's bedroom. The sun was almost gone, making the sky an eerie orange blue combination.

"Well, the light switch for his room is right outside his door. Just turn that off and close the door. It would probably be dark enough in there."

"Okay, then let's do this." Before he could stop her, April walked down the hallway along with his other friends. Aster walked quickly to catch up, and by the time he caught up April had already slammed the door shut while Phil flicked the light switch down.

Aster did not like this one bit, but he continued to stand in the background.

* * *

Jack sat on his bed with a sketchbook on his lap. The whole day he hid out in his room, not wanting to see the disappointed looks from Aster. He felt horrible about what he did to the painting. He didn't mean to.

His sketchbook was full of mediocre doodles, none of them up to par with his older brother's work. Aster was the more artistic of the two, while Jack was the more athletic. It was true Aster could rival Wendy in a race, but Jack could keep his own, and run for longer.

He continued to draw in his sketchbook until a sudden slam made him look up in alarm. His bedroom door closed shut out of nowhere, stopping all the light from the hallway to come in. Jack's heartbeat sped up. He still had his bedside lamp on, but it wasn't enough to light up the entire room evenly.

Going against his better judgment, Jack slid off of his bed and walked over to his doorway. When he got to the wood he grabbed the doorknob and started twisting it, hoping that the door would open. But the knob didn't turn, and Jack started to get more worried. He gripped it tighter and started to frantically shake it, hoping that it would open. It didn't.

"Aster," Jack called out, hoping his brother could hear him. No one answered him and he thought he could hear voices behind the door.

"Aster," he called out, his voice getting shakier. Before he could knock again he heard breathing from behind him.

_No no no_ Jack thought, his mind going into over drive. _My lamp is on. He can't be here! He can't be in the light!_

"Aster!" Jack's voice got louder even as his fear grew. He didn't want to be in here. The breathing was accompanied by the sound of footsteps. And right as Jack called for Aster again his lamp's light blew out, just as unexpectedly like the other one just a month before.

Jack let go of the knob and instead started pounding on the door with both of his fists, hoping his brother could hear him. He wouldn't abandon him. Would he? He did ruin his painting.

The footsteps behind him stopped and Jack stopped his pounding as well, wishing, hoping, that whatever was behind him was gone.

His hope was short lived, however, whenever the breathing was right in his ear. Jack stood stock still, not able to do anything but stare wide eyed into the darkness in front of him. He couldn't think. But he didn't have to whenever the voice spoke.

_**Hello Jack.**_

That was when he screamed.

* * *

Aster looked at the door in front of him as the doorknob started to shake from the other side. The side with his brother. But April was holding it with all her strength, making it impossible for it to turn to let anyone out.

"Aster," Jack called out cautiously. Aster wanted to reply, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't sound too scared. Aster then remembered that he had a lamp in his room. It made him feel slightly better knowing that he wasn't in total darkness.

Patrick, Phil and April were snickering from where they stood. They were horrible at being quiet. Jack probably could hear them from where he stood.

"Aster," Jack called out louder, and Aster was feeling conflicted. He didn't know what to do at this point. Both Phil and Patrick were standing in front of him watching the door as April stood there making sure it stayed closed.

"Aster," his voiced seemed even more scared and Aster knew it was time to quit.

"Alright he's scared enough. Open the door April." April looked back at him without turning her head, but otherwise she ignored his words.

"Didn't you hear me? Open it!"

"No. He's faking it. I can tell."

"He's not faking it," Aster said at the same time that Jack screamed his name again, this time worse than the last.

"April I think we should let him out," Patrick said, looking scared. "I think he's had enough." Jack started pounding on the door and Aster started to walk forward past all of his friends. April let go of the knob but she didn't move out of the way.

"Okay I let go. He can open it himself." She walked past Aster to the staircase, acting like she did nothing wrong.

Then they heard the scream.

It was bloodcurdling, and it sounded like one from a nightmare. It was full of pure panic and fear.

Everyone jumped as they heard the scream, and Aster was on his feet, pushing open the door with all his might to get in. The light from the hallway flittered into the room, erasing the dark. Aster could have sworn there were hands in the shadow, but it was most likely his eyes trying to adjust.

He looked over to the bed, but Jack was not in it. Next to the bed was Jack's lamp, the shade off and the light bulb broken, but still inside of the lamp itself. Aster became more worried the longer it took to find Jack.

"Someone turn the light on!" At his words one of the teens outside flicked on the light, taking out the rest of the shadows in the room. Aster continued to look, and when he found Jack he did not like what he saw.

Jack was sitting in the back corner of his room. He was curled up with his knees pressed tightly against his chest. His forehead rested on his knees and his hands with gripping his hair tightly. His knuckles were pale, and he was shaking violently.

"Jack," Aster said quietly, slowly walking towards his brother. He didn't respond and that made Aster even more worried.

"Jack? It's me, Aster." He tried using the tactic he used whenever he had to calm Jack after one of his nightmares. But this time Jack was ignoring him and still shaking in the corner like Aster wasn't even in the room.

Aster knelt right in front of Jack, staring at him intently.

"Is he okay," April asked, sounding concerned. Aster ignored her, not caring for any of his friends. Right now all his thoughts were on his little brother. Aster put his hand on Jack's shoulder, and Jack flinched away violently.

"No," he yelled. Aster pulled back and started at his brother wide eyed. Jack shrunk back into the corner even more if possible, and he continued to shake.

"Jack. Jack please calm down." Aster tried reaching out to his brother, but he was scared himself. He had never seen Jack this bad. And it was all his friend's fault. No, it was his fault to. How could he let his friends talk him into doing this to his own brother? He meant the world to him and he let him down for revenge on his stupid project. He didn't even care about it anymore. He just wanted his brother to be okay.

Without thinking, Aster moved forward and wrapped his arms around Jack. His response was instantaneous.

Jack stared to squirm, trying to get out of the arms holding him. But Aster didn't let go. He held on tighter and pulled him into his lap, hoping that the contact would sooth him. It always would. But Jack started to scream.

"LET ME GO," he shrieked, thrashing around in Aster's arms. He kept holding on and started to rub his back.

"Jack, ssh, it's alright. It's just me." He clenched his eyes shut, not wanting to see his brother in so much pain.

"LEAVE ME ALONE," he yelled again. Aster ignored his screams and continued to comfort his brother to the best of his abilities.

"Please let me go," he yelled, but from all his struggling he was starting to tire himself out. Aster kept comforting his brother, even as he felt the water leaking onto his shirt. He didn't care, because he could feel his own tears going down his face.

"It's okay Jack. I'm here now. I'll protect you." Jack's movements started to get slower and slower until he became calm in Aster's arms. His body was still shaking as he took in shaky breaths, still crying.

"Don't take me away," Jack said quietly, so quietly that Aster thought it wasn't meant for anyone to hear. "I don't want to go." Aster was confused. He didn't know what happening in Jack's mind, but something was seriously wrong.

"Guy," Aster called out to his friends, hoping at least one of them was still there.

"Yeah," Phil responded.

"Can you get my cell phone and call my mom? I need her." He heard Phil leave, but he never took his eyes off of Jack. He didn't his parents there. They might know what to do.

"Here you go," Phil said, kneeling down next to the two and holding the phone out to Aster.

"Could you call them and hold the phone up to my ear? I don't want to let him go."

"Sure," Phil said as he started to type into the phone. "Patrick and April left a little bit ago. You know, cause she wasn't supposed to be here." At the thought of her Aster's blood boiled. If she hadn't of come over none of this would have happened.

As Aster listened to the phone ringing, all he could ask himself was;

_Jack… What happened to you?_

_Please be okay._


	6. The Past

**_A/N Here is the next chapter of the story. I hope all of you are enjoying it as much as I do writing it. Like always please read and review. Each notification in my inbox means the world to me._**

* * *

As Aster sat on the couch in the living room, he didn't know what to do or what to think. He was uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. Just up the stairs his mom and dad were talking to Jack, wanting to hear his side of the story before they even asked Aster what had happened.

Aster's knee bounced up and down as he sat, waiting for his parents to come down and start yelling at him. He knew what he did was wrong, but he was in the heat of the moment. He wasn't thinking straight.

He could hear the footsteps descending down the stairs in the unusually quiet house. He started to feel nervous. He would have to tell them the truth. There was no way around it.

Amelia and North sat down, Amelia next to Aster on the couch and North in the chair. Aster looked at the ground, not wanting to see his parent's disappointed faces staring right at him.

"Aster," Amelia started, her voice sweet yet firm. "I want to know what happened while we were gone. The entire story." Both her and her husband watched Aster as he continued to look at the ground. Neither spoke, waiting for their son to talk and explain himself.

"Well… After you two left, I waited for the guys to come over and Jack stayed in his room."

"Did he come out at all while we were gone," North interrupted.

"Um… No. But, when they got here, the three of them came in and we sat in the living room." Before Aster could continue Amelia cut in.

"Three?" Aster paled. "What do you mean three? Only Phil and Patrick were supposed to come over." He nervously linked his fingers, trying to stall for time as long as he could.

"When they came over they brought April, and she wouldn't leave so I let her in too."

"Excuse me," Amelia said, shocked. She leaned forward, like she wasn't able to hear what he said the first time. "Did you say you let this other girl in the house? Because I thought that we agreed only Phil and Patrick."

"They were going to leave if I made her leave. So I thought that she could come over with them and then they could all leave at the same time. Before you guys would have gotten home." Amelia and North shared a look before looking back at their son.

"We can talk about that later," North said, leaning back in his chair. "Now, continue your story." Aster nodded and looked back at his feet.

"Well, we were just having normal conversations until they asked to see my painting. I told them I couldn't show it to them and they asked why. So I told them that Jack ruined it. But I told them it was on accident I swear." Both parents looked skeptically at him, but they stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue.

"They said that he probably did it on purpose though, and that it would be in my interest to get him back for it." Amelia was about to speak up but Aster kept talking. "I know Jack wouldn't do it on purpose, and I tried to tell them that. They wouldn't listen to me though!"

"So one then they had the idea to lock Jack in his room in the dark for a couple minutes, just to give him a little freight, not a panic attack."

"We see how well that plan worked out," North muttered. Aster shrunk in one himself. He knew they had more to say about the situation but they wanted him to finish before they started questioning him.

"We meant no harm with it," Aster defended, but he knew it was useless. "And I don't even know why I agreed to it. My mind felt really foggy."

"So we all went upstairs. When we got to Jack's room the guys turned off his light and shut his door." Aster tried to keep from saying who did what or said what. "I thought he would be okay. He still had his lamp in his room, so he would have some light."

"When we went in there, it looked like it was smashed to pieces," Amelia informed Aster.

"I don't know how. While the others were holding the door closed I stood near the back and just watched. Jack kept calling out for someone to open the door, but we ignored it. They said they thought he was faking it.

He kept yelling out. The more he yelled the more I wanted to just walk past them and open the door." Aster started sweated and his skin became paler.

"Then he screamed. When he screamed I went passed them all and went into the room. He was sitting in the corner of his room, his head in his knees." Aster started breathing harder, and his words came out jumbled the more he talked.

"I tried to calm him down. I really did! But nothing I tried worked! He just kept screaming for me to get away from him and to leave him alone. I kept trying. I wanted to make him better. I knew I caused him to freak out, and I just wanted to make it better."

"Aster calm down," Amelia said, wanting to sooth her eldest son.

"Then he asked for me to not take him away. I didn't know what it meant. But I stayed with him where he was. I had Phil call you guys to get you home. You'd know what to do. You're our parents. You have to know what to do." Aster felt like a little kid again. All he wanted was for his parents to comfort him and make everything better.

North looked at his son and sighed.

"Jack is asleep in our room right now. You can go to your room, but we will continue this conversation later." Amelia looked at her husband questioningly before back at her son. He nodded and stood on shaking legs before slowly going up the stairs to his own room.

The hall light was on, and so was the light in his parent's room. He couldn't look inside though. He couldn't look at the brother that he had hurt.

He continued on to his room, and when he got in he fell onto his bed. His clock was blinking six fourteen. They had locked Jack in his room at around eight last night. Had it really taken that long for his parents to have come home and calm down his brother? He didn't know, and he closed his eyes.

But sleep didn't come to him. No matter how hard he tried all he could hear was the sound of Jack's screams. All he could see was his brother's horror stricken face, thrashing about in his arms, trying to bat away the dark that was around him.

Aster hated feeling like this. He hated knowing he was the cause of all this pain.

After tossing and turning in his bed, Aster got up from his futile attempt at sleeping. He walked past his parent's room again and down the stairs.

"North this is getting worse." Aster stopped walking down the stairs and instead knelt down on the stairs halfway through.

"I know, but I do not know what to do." He heard North sigh loudly. "Doctors do not work. Medicines do not work. I'm just as lost as you are."

"I never thought it would be this bad. Whenever we adopted him, I thought it would pass as he grew up, not get worse over time." This caught Aster's attention. He never knew about Jack's life before he was adopted. He tried asking Amelia once, but she told him that it wasn't important, so at his young age he dropped the subject. Even after all this time he was still curious as to what happened before Jack became part of their family.

"It was hard for him, a child losing his parents at such a young age. Must have been horrifying."

"He was strong though. He acted; he still acts, like nothing is wrong during the day. I don't know why it is only at night."

Aster's curiosity got the better of him, and he walked down the rest of the steps and called out to his parents, blowing his cover.

"Mom," he called out. Both parents whipped their heads around to look at him, startled that he was still awake.

"Aster," Amelia breathed out. "What are you still doing up?"

"Didn't I say to go to your room? We will talk about it later," North said, ready to have Aster leave again. Aster was persistent this time.

"I was coming downstairs to get something to drink because I couldn't sleep. What were you guys talking about before I came down," Aster said, still standing at the bottom of the steps. Both parents looked at each other, willing the other to speak first. Amelia caved first.

"It was nothing Aster, just get your drink and go back to bed." Amelia started to turn back around, but Aster came forward, standing right in between the two parents.

"I heard you talking about Jack before he came here. You guys never told me about his past." North and Amelia both froze.

"I said a while back, it isn't of your concern Aster. Go back to your room."

"I feel like I should know. What if his past can have some answer to why he is freaking out now? We could all work together and try to figure out a solution together!" He was determined to find out any and all information that could help his brother.

"Alright," Amelia said, barely above a whisper. But Aster heard it, and he looked surprised, same with North.

"Amelia, are you sure," North said calmly.

"Yes. Aster is right. If we all know, then we could have a better chance at helping Jack out." North nodded. Aster went to the front of the couch and sat down where he previously was. He looked back and forth between his parents, waiting for one of them to talk. Amelia cleared her throat.

"We adopted Jack whenever he was four. Whenever we saw Jack, he was smiling and playing with all of the other kids, older and younger. He made us smile. He was so happy and fun loving.

"I went over to him and started talking to him. He was the sweetest boy I've seen, other than you. The first thing he told me was that my eyes were beautiful. I immediately fell in love with him."

Amelia had a small smile on her face from her first memories with the boy who was now her youngest son. Aster stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue talking. They did it for him before, and he was going to do it for them now.

"We went to go talk to the Benefactor, and he regarded us cautiously. At first I thought it was something he did to anyone adopting, but he was doing it because of Jack.

"He told us that every time someone wanted to adopt him, after he told the adults about his problems, they changed their minds. I was horrified at the thought of getting a child's hopes up and then breaking it down.

"He told us that his parents had died in a house fire. It was in the middle of the night when it happened. One of the neighbors saw the smoke and flames and called the fire department. When they got there they saw Jack outside the door to his parent's room, trying to get in. The immediately grabbed him and took him out of the house. But it was too late for his parents.

"Ever since then, Jack had been terrified of the dark. They thought he would have been more scared of fire than the dark, but no one knew what caused the fire. They said it was an accident.

"Once parents were told of the severity of his anxieties they left. We didn't though. We still adopted him. After we got him we had to take North to work and then we came home. You should know the rest."

Amelia got quiet, and Aster kept staring at her. His brain was still trying to process the information.

"I just want to help him," Amelia choked out, startling Aster. "I just want my baby to be alright." She started weeping, and before North could react Aster had his mother in his arms.

"It's okay mom. No one would know what to do. And you took him in. You took him in when other wouldn't. We will make him better, I promise."

After everything calmed down, Aster stood up from his seat.

"I guess I should go upstairs. I still need to go finish that painting for next Monday." Amelia nodded he turned away. Before he could make it to the stairs North stopped him.

"You did good son," he said so only Aster could hear him. He gave a sheepish smile before continuing to walk to his room, forgetting all about his water.

When he made it upstairs he looked inside his parent's room. Jack was sleeping peacefully in their bed. Aster smiled. If only he could be this peaceful every day. Aster was going to try his best to make sure that would happen.

As Aster walked the rest of the way to his room, he couldn't help but feel as if there was another presence in his parent's room. He ignored the feeling though. It was probably just his imagination.


	7. The Apology

**_A/N Sorry for the really short chapter. This was more of a filler so I can write the next chapter. _**

**_Critiques welcomes, and please Read and Review. Each one means everything to me_**

* * *

Art class on Monday had been painful. Aster walked into class without his painting and Manny immediately started asking questions to him.

"Where's your painting Aster," he asked as Aster took his regular seat at the front. Aster sighed as he put his bag onto the table in front of him.

"Something happened to it over the weekend," Aster said dejectedly. "I have to start over." Manny gave him a sympathetic expression and patted his shoulder.

"You still have a week to do it. I know you can redo it in that time." Aster nodded and Manny took that as his cue to leave and work with the other students. Most of them were still making theirs, trying to procrastinate till the very last moment.

Aster procrastinated through the whole class. He had nothing with him to work on his painting today. He had forgotten everything in his rush to get to school on time. Usually he was used to Jack waking him up on time so they could get ready together and walk to school. But today he was woken up by the sound of his mother yelling at him that he was going to be late. Jack had woken up and left early just to avoid going to school with him.

He was hurt, but he knew he deserved it. He was still trying to think of a way to make it up to his brother. What he did was wrong. He knew that. But he was horrible at trying to apologize to others. Every time he tried, he felt like he made it worse.

He almost missed it when the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. He was alert to it only as the chairs scrapped across the floor as everyone went to the door. Aster put his pencil and sketchbook back into his bag before slinging it over his shoulder.

As he walked down the hall, he avoided everyone. He just wanted to get home. He wanted to go into his room and work on his painting. But apparently he couldn't even do that.

"Aster," he heard a female voice call to him. He tensed as he turned around. April was behind him and panting like she had run to catch up with him.

"What do you want," he spat out. "I'm trying to get home." April shrunk down in his gaze but she didn't back away.

"I know you probably won't believe me, but I'm sorry," she said. Aster glared at her.

"You should be sorry. Because of you Jack is worse than ever, and I'm grounded." April, if she could, shrank even more. She couldn't look him in the eyes.

"I know. And I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be that bad."

"Well it was," Aster said, his voice rising. Some kids looked their way, but they kept on walking, wanting to return to their own homes.

"I know," April said, her voice getting a little louder. "And I felt horrible about it all weekend. But it wasn't all my fault! You guys agreed to it."

"But you gave the idea!" Aster's tone started to get more menacing; more threatening.

"Keep your voice down," she hissed. "I did give the idea. But you all went along with it." Before Aster could talk April continued. "Why did you agree?"

Aster shut up. He didn't know why he agreed. At the time his mind was hazy, he didn't know what he was doing. It was like he couldn't control his own thoughts and his mouth. He just went along with it. It was the dumbest thing he was ever done. But the worst part about it was he didn't know why he agreed.

He knew how bad Jack's condition was. He knew. Yet he still listened to them and fell into peer pressure. That was the only logical reason he could think of that explained why he agreed.

"I really don't know," Aster answered honestly after a while. April looked down.

"Did any of the others talk to you today," she asked.

"No." He had been avoiding them as much as they have been avoiding him.

"I hope he gets better," April finally said as she started to walk away.

"April," she looked at him and stopped walking. "I'm still pretty angry, but… Thanks. For at least coming and apologizing." April gave a small smile and left.

Aster watched her leave, confused as to why she came and apologized. Out of all his friends, she was the last person on his list to ever feel guilty. He shook off any feeling and continued to walk to the front of the school to go home.

A warm breeze hit his face as he opened the door to leave the school. Most of the kids had already left, leaving the outside of the school somewhat empty. Aster looked around, hoping that Jack at least waited for Aster before walking home.

At the bottom of the stairs sat Jack and Sanderson. Both of them were in deep conversation, and it seemed like they hadn't noticed Aster yet.

He was about to go down to talk to them, but he stayed put.

Sanderson was signing something, but Aster for the life of him didn't know he was saying. Even after Jack learned it Aster never bothered to learn it himself.

"I don't know," Jack responded out loud. "He helped me afterward. At least that's what I think happened. It's kind of blurry." Aster's breath hitched. They were talking about him and the weekend.

Sanderson kept signing to Aster. It made him a little frustrated. He was only able to understand one side of the conversation. It made things harder than they could have been.

"But why didn't he come for me when I was yelling?" More signing. "That could be it. I just… I don't know." Sanderson patted Jack on the back. Aster saw Jack lean into the touch and he couldn't help but wish that he was the one over there comforting Jack. That was his brother. But he was the cause of Jack's discomfort.

They didn't continue the conversation, so Aster decided to make his presence known.

"Jack," he called and Jack looked back, startled. "Sorry for making you wait. Mr. Manny wanted to talk to me and kept me back for a little bit. Hope you weren't waiting long." Jack shook his head and stood up.

"Bye Sandy," he said, waving as he walked away with Aster. Sanderson waved back and gave a small, reassuring smile to his friend.


	8. The Shadow

_A/N Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. School has been keeping me very busy. But I have not abandoned this story in the slightest._

* * *

The week passed by for Aster in a blur. At school Aster had no one to talk to. Both Phil and Patrick still avoided Aster, and he was sick of it. But he could never find them in between classes to sort everything out. Even though April apologized, he still didn't like her, and she still went back to her own group of friends.

At home was no better. Amelia and North still were busy at their respective jobs, so they had no time to spend with their children. Aster was used to that, and he still loved them no matter what.

It was Jack. All week Jack had been giving him the cold shoulder. He didn't know how to respond to that. Aster was used to the sounds of Jack running around the house and acting rambunctious. He was used to Jack always bothering him every couple of minutes for the most ridiculous reasons.

He wasn't used to this Jack. A Jack who walked around the house in a cloud of gloom. A Jack who was quiet until spoken too. And most of all a Jack who didn't want anything to do with him.

All week Aster tried to talk to Jack all week, but every time he was blown off. Jack always said he was busy and needed to do homework, or he would just say he wasn't in the mood. He didn't want to push his brother, but he wanted to try to make things better.

How was he going to do that if every time he tried to talk to him he was pushed away himself?

* * *

When Aster and Jack walked into their home after school on Friday they weren't expecting both of their parents to be dressed up in fancy clothes.

"What's the occasion. You guys never dress this nice." Aster shrugged off his book bag by the front door as Amelia walked down the stairs. Jack ignored both of them and instead walked to the kitchen.

"Did you really forget Aster?" Aster kept a blank look on his face and Amelia sighed. "It's North and mine's anniversary." Realization dawned on Aster's face.

"Is that really today?"

"I wouldn't be dressed up if it were not," North said, coming down the stairs right behind Amelia.

"True," Aster replied. After everything that had happened this week he had forgotten about his parent's anniversary.

"This year we are going out to eat."

"Alright. You guys have fun," Aster said, started to walk into the living room to watch TV. Before he could take more than five steps Amelia grabbed onto his arm.

"Aster, can I speak with you for a minute?" Aster nodded dumbly as she led him up the stairs past North, who still stood in the hall. When they stood at the very end of the hall, right in front of Jack's room, Amelia let go of Aster's arm and started to talk.

"I'm going to be serious Aster. I do not want anyone over. Anyone. I don't care what their reason is, no one comes over."

"Mom, I won…"

"I'm not done talking Aster," she said sternly, interrupting her son. "And while we are gone, I want you to try and get along with Jack again. I hate seeing you two avoiding each other like this. So please, try and work things out between you two."

Aster had no words and could only nod. Amelia gave a small smile and hugged her son tightly.

"Thank you. I love you both so much."

* * *

When Amelia and North left the house around seven, Aster stopped working on his painting. While they were home he thought his best bet was to work on the painting to get some of it done. It was due on Monday and he was running out of time.

He hadn't gotten much progress on it. The foreground of the picture was colored green, designed to be grass, but other than that there was nothing. He still couldn't focus on it.

Now that they were gone Aster thought it would be the best time to try and make up with Jack.

He got up from his seat at the kitchen table and walked to the stairs. He stood there for a second, trying to find the best way to approach his brother. The biggest problem was that he didn't know _how_ to fix this. All he knew was that he _wanted_ to fix it.

He sucked in a breath and walked up the stairs, thinking of all the ways that this could go.

When he had gotten to Jack's door he stopped. He knocked on the door lightly, wanting Jack to let him in instead of him barging in.

"Yes," he heard Jack answer.

"Can I come in," Aster replied, hoping Jack would say yes. If Jack wasn't willing to try being civil then it was all for naught for him to even try.

After a few seconds of silence on both sides of the door Aster heard a faint 'yes'. He mentally grinned as he pushed open the door more than it was and came all the way in.

The room was bright. With it being summer there was still sunlight coming in through the window. Even with the light he still had his lamp on and the hall light was on. Aster had to wonder how much their electricity bill had to have been all these years.

"What do you want," Jack asked quickly, not looking up from his seat on the bed. He was reading a book, but Aster could not see the cover.

"Whatcha readin," Aster asked, trying to have a civil conversation with Jack before talking about anything serious.

"Something for school," he said, still not looking at Aster. His voice was cold, and it took Aster all of his might to not groan out of frustration.

"Well, what book?"

"Gatsby." Jack kept his replies short. Aster started walking forward, hoping that he was not overstepping his boundaries. Jack continued to ignore him, so he kept walking.

When he had gotten close enough, Aster sat on his bed. He didn't say anything and neither did Jack, both of them sat in awkward silence.

Jack was sitting up, leaning against the backboard of the bed. Aster could see his knee bouncing up and down as he read, showing his annoyance.

It took around ten minutes for Jack to acknowledge Aster. He set the book down on the nightstand next to him before looking at his brother.

"What are you doing up here? Don't you have to finish your painting?"

"I can take a break. I've been workin on it all day." Aster shrugged, hoping that he was appearing nonchalant.

"It's due Monday," Jack said.

"So it is." Both of them didn't talk for a while, falling into another bout of silence. Jack hadn't picked up his book again to ignore Aster, so he felt it was a step forward.

"Didja want to come downstairs? We could watch a movie or somethin." Aster saw Jack glance back at his book and he hoped that Jack would say yes and not go back to reading.

"Sure," he said. Aster grinned widely and got off the bed. Jack followed suit and both went back to the living room. Jack went and sat on the couch as Aster went to get a movie.

"What did you want to watch," Aster asked as he kneeled in front of their movie cabinet.

"I don't know. You're the one who asked me to come down," Jack told him and Aster frowned.

"Brave," he asked. He looked back at Jack, who shrugged. Thinking that that was the best he was going to get, he grabbed the DVD and put it into the player. He sat on the couch next to Jack as the advertisements played.

* * *

Both boys were quiet during the movie, neither of them wanting to break the silence. Part way through the movie Aster looked at his brother.

Jack looked horrible. The bags under his eyes were more prominent. He was slouching, and he constantly looked tired.

The biggest thing that worried Aster was that Jack was sleeping. For the whole week Jack had not woken up screaming like he used to. Aster thought that would have been a good thing if not for the fact that it seemed like it was taking more of a toil on Jack when he was awake.

When he woke up in the middle of the night screaming, he was still able to get up and live like there was nothing wrong. But ever since he started getting sleep he walked around like he was the living dead. He didn't know what spurred this change, but Aster hated it. He would rather wake up in the middle of the night to help his brother than seeing him like this.

"Jack," Aster said quietly. Jack gave a small sound of acknowledgement, and Aster decided to keep talking.

"Jack, I know you are probably mad at me," Jack snorted. "I know you are mad at me, but I have to let you know that I am sorry.

"I know that when you were in the room I should have helped you. You were scared and I failed to be your older brother." Jack continued to look at the movie on the screen, but he knew that Jack was listening. His posture was rigid and his hands were gripping his pants tightly.

"You probably hate me right now, and you have all the reason to. But you have to know that I love you Jack. If I could go back I would change everythin. But I can't." Jack's shoulders started shaking, but Aster ignored that. He had to keep talking.

"But you have to know, that from now on I will do everythin I can to make it up to you. I will do everythin that I can to show you that I care." Before Aster could say anymore, Jack cut him off by slamming into him. His arms wrapped around his waist, and he could hear Jack crying into his shirt.

Aster was stunned for a few seconds before he could regain his composure. When he did, he wrapped his arms around his little brother, letting him cry into his chest. Aster smiled down at his brother and look towards the television. On screen the red hair girl was hugging her mom, just like Jack was doing to him.

It took a while for Jack to calm down. When he did he pulled away from Aster and looked at him.

"I love you too Aster," he said with a faint smile, and Aster couldn't feel any better. Before he could reply to his brother to television shut off, cutting the credits of their movie off. Both of the boys looked at it in confusion.

"Wonder what that's all about," Aster said quietly as he got up. He checked the outlet to see if somehow something got unplugged. When he looked everything was still in place.

A pop sound came from upstairs and Aster stood up all the way. He swerved around to look at the stairs. The light that usually came down the stairs from the hall light was no longer on.

"What's going on," Aster asked. One by one the pops of breaking light bulbs could be heard until no lights were on in the house. Jack started visibly shaking from his seat on the couch.

Aster took two large steps to his brother and sat right next to him. He wrapped his arms around him, hoping the physical connection would keep him calm.

"Aster, I'm scared," he heard Jack breathe out. He just tightened his grip on his brother. The light from the DVD player was the only thing in the entire room that was lit up. It was dark outside now, they had used up the rest of the daylight watching their movie.

Aster looked down at the floor where the light was from the DVD player. Nothing was moving, but a black streak went across the light. It was there and gone in the blink of an eye, but Aster saw it and was immediately on guard.

Suddenly Aster could hear breathing that was neither his or Jacks. Aster stood up and brought Jack with him to a standing position.

"Whose there," Aster yelled out to the darkness. He hadn't heard the door opening or closing, so he didn't know anyone could get into the house. Maybe they had come through the window. No matter how they got in, he was going to get rid of them.

"Whose there," he yelled louder, waiting for someone to respond.

_**Well what do we have here?**_

Aster visibly jumped at the new voice. He was immediately on guard, pulling Jack closer to him.

_**Isn't this the brother who does not care?**_ The voice said. Aster frowned.

"Who are you?" Jack moved closer to Aster.

"It's him," he said quietly. Aster looked down at him, confused.

"Who's him?"

_**You mean he hasn't talked about me?**_ The voice sounded like an echo around the house. Every time it spoke Aster felt a chill run up his spine.

_**I'm hurt Jack.**_

"Jack what is going on," Aster asked Jack. He was starting to get worried. He didn't know what was going on.

"It's him," Jack repeated. "The man in the dark. The one in my nightmares." Aster was thoroughly confused. He didn't know what he was talking about.

"Jack what are you talking about?" Aster was getting more and more worried as Jack talked. He was starting to sound hysterical. He rubbed his arms up and down Jack's sides to calm him down.

"He's the man in the dark. He's why I can't sleep." Aster furrowed his brows at his brother before looking up, trying to make out a person in the dark. He couldn't see a silhouette of a person anywhere.

The faint sounds of murmuring could be heard throughout the house. Aster looked around, but there was no one in the house besides him and Jack.

"Don't let him take me Aster," Jack said, his voice shaking and getting louder.

"Please," he said again, and Aster gripped his brother tighter.

He didn't know what was going on, but he was going to protect his brother even if it killed him.

He wasn't going to let him down again.

* * *

_Please read and review or critique. Every one means the world to me. It also might take me a while to get the next chapter out, so do not fret. It will come_


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